My Wines

My Cellar

Clos du Bois didn’t start small and build up like many other wineries - it started with a bang. When it produced its first vintage in 1974, it already had 520 acres under vine in Alexander Valley, part of Sonoma County. When Frank Woods was coming up with the name for his winery, he thought of “Woods Winery,” obviously named after himself, but his children had somet... Read more

Clos du Bois didn’t start small and build up like many other wineries - it started with a bang. When it produced its first vintage in 1974, it already had 520 acres under vine in Alexander Valley, part of Sonoma County. When Frank Woods was coming up with the name for his winery, he thought of “Woods Winery,” obviously named after himself, but his children had something else in mind. They were taking French at the time, and instead of “Woods Winery,” they thought of “Clos du Bois,” which loosely translates to “enclosure in the woods.” Obviously the name stuck, and Clos du Bois was born.
Since then, Clos du Bois has come a long way. From 520 acres, the winery has expanded to 925 acres of their own, along with many partnerships with other wineries. Instead of partnering with a few, large vineyards, the winery works with many small- and medium-sized growers across numerous appellations. Most of the grapes it purchases from other vineyards are from Sonoma County, but some come from Coastal California as well. Erik Olsen, their current winemaker, joined in June 2003, and has since taken those grapes and made them into very well-received wines.
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This wine captures Pinotrsquo;s silky, spicy qualities, although itrsquo;s thin, light and basic. Some pretty notes of raspberry, smoke, sun-dried tomatoes, mushroom and chocolate and a nice, spicy intensity on the palate. The tannins are soft and light, and it snaps to a quick finish.

A simple, soft, fruit and one-dimensional Pinto that offers up slight flavors of raspberries, pepper and tobacco. Fully dry, with silky tannins and bracing acids, but itrsquo;s hard to get over the anorexic profile.

Pinot Noir is a difficult wine to produce successfully. Clos du Bois uses the time-honored Burgundian techniques of small tank fermentation and aging in heavily toasted oak barrels. This process preserves the smooth, rich texture and subtle varietal flavors of the grape, producing aromas of crushed rose petals and cherries characteristic of the best Pinot Noirs.

This Pinot Noir shows deep shades of black cherry in the glass, with classic aromas of strawberry, cherry, vanilla and hints of smokiness on the nose. The wine has a lush, silky texture that opens to flavors of cherry and strawberry. With a pleasing balance of oak, the wine integrates its bright fruit flavors beautifully on the palate.

Subtle, smoky nose, somewhat tight. Rich, concentrated black cherry flavor. Classic Pinot. Soft tannins make for easy drinking. not complex, but very friendly and accessible now, and could improve for another year or two.